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Eugene Chan beautifully demonstrated effective product placement in James Bond movies. It is something that impressed me when I saw the last two films of the popular serie. So I decided to investigate a little more on the subject and found a website ranking the 10 most shameless product placements in movie history.

In that list, we find movies such as E.T. (Reese), Transformers (GM), I, Robot (Audi; Converse), and Mac and Me (McDonald’s). This is definitely a trend that is growing. It allows to reduce movies’ costs and increase overall profitability. Companies are seeking to be part of what they believe are going to be the next top box-office franchise so they can get a high visibility in a particular market.

According to director Michael Bay, integrating products as part of movies is just part of today’s reality:

What a great job by Advertising agency Del Campo Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi, Argentina!

I just thought it was a good and funny ad. Poor guys who think their relationship is over! Also, it reflects something we covered in class which is amazing, no?!

Not so long ago, I revised Chapter 10 from the textbook and noticed Exhibit 10.3 (page 192) which ranked “The World’s Ten Most Valuable Brands” in 2007. It gave me the idea to come up with a similar table for 2010 but for the 15 brands which value has increased the most in the previous year.

I’d like to analyze it. There is nothing scientific about the method I’ll employ. It will mostly be subjective but I’m sure it can show some actual trends among the consuming world!

Out of the 15 brands, 5 are in the Electronics sector, 4 in the Financial Services sector and  3 in the Internet Services sector. Not surprising is the value increase of companies opearating in the ITs. The whole world tends and wants to be connected more and more if not 24/7!! This explains Apple’s and Google’s first  and second place in the chart. For Apple, of course, its rise is not solely due to the IT trend’s effects. With its effective marketing strategies, Apple is able to build strong loyalty among its consumers and its number of aficionados is constantly increasing.

More surprising at first sight, perhaps, is the presence of 3 banks, J.P. Morgan, Allianz and HSBC, in the Top 15. One could argue that with the crisis they caused (in part), they don’t deserve to be there. It’s certainly true for many of their competitors but those 3 are major playors in the world which have taken better decisions in the past leading them to go through the economic downturn quite well compared to too many others. Such a behaviour is, in turn, rewarded by the markets and the consumers. This, therefore, could explain the presence of those financial institutions.

As for the future, we may predict that successful IT companies will continue to get more importance and more visibility in the world considering the trend toward technology is not near an end.

With a starting price of 187,000 CAD, the Audi R8 Spyder is definitely not in the same category as the Honda Civic. I chose to comment on this ad because pricing is our actual topic in class and because the car is awesome!

Even though the price is not indicated on the panel, most people are aware that Audi is a luxury car manufacturer with prices that go along. Also,  I think the text on the picture says it all: you better study hard if you want to own this car one day!

I’d now like to discuss Audi’s company objectives and its pricing strategies. As we have seen, four orientations are possible for companies: profit orientation, sales orientation, competitor orientation and customer orientation.

One could say that every car manufacturer is seeking to sell as many cars as they can. Even if Audi is happy when selling many vehicules, it is not sales-orientated for all that. Its prices are clearly not as low as they could be.

In a certain way, Audi is competitor-orientated because it has to be aware of, say, Mercedes’ and BMW’s offerings. But, by setting its prices accordingly to its competitors, it is not “to discourage more competitors from entering the market” (Marketing textbook p.250). The reason is quite simple: it takes a lot more than low prices to be considered and respected as a luxury car maker. In fact, low prices are usually not welcome because it doesn’t fit with the exclusivity concept.

This brings us to the last two orientations that, I believe, characterize Audi’s strategies. It is clearly profit-oriented, as do the other luxury car makers, because its profit margins are important. Particularly on the R8 which is a high-end model, these margins must be quite interesting!

Finally, luxury car manufacturers like Audi have to be customer-oriented because their consumers are seeking for high value in what they buy and, what is even better , they are willing to pay a high premium to the company which offers them the best value. This is why Audi and its competitors offer their clients the opportunity to customize their car more and more.

That is, I’ll definitely “stay in school”!

Here is one TV commercial from Whistler Blackcomb for the 2010-2011 winter season.

Like many people in Vancouver/British Columbia, I can’t wait to get on the slopes for the first time this season! Apparently, the snow is falling at a good pace; let’s hope it stays this way! Anyhow, I wanted to see what was Whistler Blackcomb’s approach to its consumers this year.

I know TVcommercials are only a part of their marketing strategy, but I think it is still an important element of it. Mainly, this ad emphasize the fact that buying tickets, trip packages, passes or “Edge cards” early makes you save money in the long run. This is a current practice in the ski and board industry. I’m pretty sure it is also a very effective practice because it insures mountain resort owners a certain and secure early revenue on which they can build their strategy and manage their advertising efforts afterwhile.

The concept with the videos inserted in boxes is interesting. Transitions are easily and efficiently done this way. Also, the commercial is really short (16 seconds) which is a mean to reduce costs because TV broadcasting time is quite expensive. Even though the ad doesn’t last long, Whistler Blackcomb succeeds into delivering its message appropriately. Personally, I would have liked to see more landscapes of Whistler because I’ve never been there, but I think this commercial principally target consumers who generally know the mountain well because they live in the region.

For the people who have never experienced Whistler Blackcomb, it may be more like a teaser to attract them to the resort in order for them to see the actual beauty of the landscapes and to taste the pleasure the slopes provide!! I think I’ll be part of those who will fall in the “trap”, if there is actually one!

Trendwatching.com, in their August 2010 Briefing called “Innovation Insanity”, reported 67 innovations from around the world spotted by their sister company Springwise.com. These are the most promising and creative of the year according to them.

One of these amazing innovations actually caught my attention. The Spanish chain restaurant Fresc Co, which owns and operates 40 establishments in Spain, have started a couple of months ago to give two-hour sessions of English classes. The interesting concept is that it is provided while people are eating and that it is free from supplemental charges (for the moment). These courses are intended for business people to develop their everyday English skills.

I think this idea is a great way to increase sales while developing a strong brand reputation/recognition. I believe many people who experience this concept will probably become loyal customers or, at least, spread the word through positive word-of-mouth. I am convinced of that because I know I would participate in such a program if it existed in a similar form where I live.

Speaking of that, it will be interesting to see what effect this innovation will have on the competitors’ offering. Will they copy the concept? Adapt it? Improve it?

The next three videos are men commercials from H&M for the 2010 Fall season. I came up with the idea of looking up for their ads because of a purchase I made there not so long ago. I have bought a nice jacket for Vancouver’s particular weather and, I have to admit it, it has been an impulsive expense. I saw the coat in the store, fell in love with it, and told myself I really needed one even if it was not entirely true! I’m guilty,  but I can live with that!

For two years approximately, I have been enjoying shopping  at this store for their relatively low prices and the trendy look of their clothes. Nonetheless, I couldn’t remember having seen one of their commercials on TV; hence, I decided to investigate and find some of their most recent ads.

A man standing in an all-mirror booth trying on new clothes or getting ready to go somewhere; the concept is quite simple. Perhaps, it is too simple. Personally, these commercials don’t appeal to me. It may for a majority of their target market, maybe. But I suspect, by the lenght of the ads, that they are intended to be played often during precised TV shows, even twice during a single commercial. Hence, I think the objective of this campaign is to engrave the H&M name and logo inside the viewers’ heads by repetition.

H&M, like Zara, is part of the Fast-Fashion industry which rotates its stock every month, approximately, rather than every season. For this industry, timing is a crucial element.